A fresh and chilly night in Nottingham sees us head up once more to the infamous Rock City to feel some Hispanic heat, and be totally blown away by Breed 77. Walking past the tour bus and seeing the hazy figures on the top deck makes us think of Lee’s cracking interview with the guys earlier on the tour, but we don’t want to hang around, as lets face it, it’s bloody freezing.
We didn’t manage to catch opening act Symphony Cult, but were reliably informed “They weren’t bad” by the bloke stood next to us at the bar. We shall check them out in due course. Only half way through our first pint sees Our Malevolent Tyranny, an interesting name and at least they tend to fly under the banner of O.M.T. Hats off to Breed 77, O.M.T. are a sound choice for the tour, a diverse mix of melodic hardcore fused with thrash and a bit of dual harmonic guitar work thrown in for good measure.Tracks such as “Evil Ruler” and “Blooded Stain Of Society” really give front man Stewart Ferguson’s pipes a work out and sure as hell shake the cobwebs from the crowd. It take a little while for the audience to warm to these guys, but by the end of the set the venue is fully aurally lubricated and raring to go.
Another pint and anticipation is rising for the headliners tonight. The stage is set as we see mic stands with large bugs on them, good to see that the Breed lads are taking the “Insects” album theme to the max. A ticking clock plays out over the p.a. and we have a blistering opening salvo of “Wake Up” and “Blind”. Rock City is turned from pedestrian to a lunatic asylum in minutes. The band all clad with insect arm bands are firing on all cylinders and Paul Isola with his new “racing stripe” mohican haircut has the eager crowd exactly where he wants them.
Breed 77 take the scattergun approach with tonight’s set peppering the set list with classics spanning their 13 year stand and new “instant classics” from their latest album. It was always going to be a bold move touring to support an album that was only released half way through the 16 date tour. But as this was the penultimate night, the Nottingham fans at least had a week to have got to grips with the album and learn a few choruses to help Isola and his boys along. Those who didnt know the lyrics or havent got the album yet were instructed by the charismatic vocalist to at least “pretend they know it” in particular for a thunderous performance of the title track.
New was mixed with old, “World On Fire” sat neatly alongside newcomers “Revolution On My Mind” and “Battle Of Hatin”. The band perform as a unit with guitarists dreadlocked Danny Felice and Pedro Caparros (still looking like Sideshow Bob) duelling like demented metal flamenco styled bandits. New boy Oscar Zamora behind the drum kit is a powerhouse and slotted into the scene seamlessly, working perfectly with the unmistakable figure of Stuart Cavilla for the foundation of the band.
By the time Breed get to their version of The Cranberries “Zombie” the place is a sweat pit sauna, and the crowd behave like a bunch of teenagers after a few pints of “Monster” or “Rockstar”. It was impossible not to get sucked up into the atmosphere we all sang our selves hoarse and pogo’d til we dropped. Winding up the set with all the support bands joining the guys on stage to belt out “La Ultima Hora”, Breed 77 simply tore the place apart.
Bottom Line
A blistering show, and as a veteran of many a Breed 77 performance this ranks up there as one of the best. High octane, high impact and not stop entertainment. There was no room for the likes of "The River" as the pace just did not slow. To say this was the penultimate night of the tour Breed 77 treated it like the full on end of tour party.
Wow.. Breed 77 really are getting covered in OneMetal love at the moment. Great write up Mr Wrigz, you are having far to much fun at the moment!
November 27, 2009 at 11:23 OneMetal Team Member
Glad you had a good time- they`re a great live band and top blokes too!!! \m/
December 6, 2009 at 16:48